Dues
by The Amazing McCormick
Summary: Silver never thought he'd voluntarily visit such a weakling.


A/N: Pokémon fanfiction? What?

I bought Soul Silver last weekend, and Silver is just great, okay?

(Though it was hard for me to use the "canon" names for these two in the story, since I didn't name them these things in my game.)

Actually, in my game, Lyra's and Silver's names are Ghosty and Axel, respectively.

I don't want any sass from you. I have a perfectly good reason as to why I would name my character Ghosty.

* * *

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center."

Silver shrugged off the greeting as he strode purposefully into the building, heading straight for the counter without straying. When he reached the counter, Nurse Joy smiled brightly at him, though the smile didn't quite reach the brooding redhead, who seemed to emit his own glow of apathy. Silently and business-like, he presented his Pokémon to the Nurse, who took them and began healing them, keeping on with her chatter.

As he waited, Silver let his eyes wander the room. This particular Pokémon Center was rather lively, with multiple trainers letting their Pokémon run loose in the building. It was quite noisy.

The Nurse presented Silver with his fully healed Pokémon. Silver thanked her solemnly and turned, ready to leave, when something caught him. Something hot scorched his ankle.

"Ah! Nnn…" he groaned, looking down to see the offensive creature that would injure him for no reason. Of course, when their eyes met, the "no reason" clause rightly flew out the window, if he figured correctly. For, at his feet, was a Quilava.

Of course, that didn't mean it was _her_ Quilava. There could be another trainer here with a Quilava… that just happened to burn him. But then, the Fire Pokémon was joined by another; a pink, fluffy, electric one that he also recognized. Flaaffy.

Silver's mind flashed back to his last battle with her. Yes, she had also used a Flaaffy in that battle. Of course, it could still all be coincidence. But he didn't see her in the lobby. He would have definitely noticed her. Now, what would really cinch it would be if a-

"Pidgeotto!"

They were hers.

The three Pokémon were gathered around him now, all looking at him with contempt. Who could blame them, though? He wasn't nice, or really, even _sportsmanlike _in their battles. It would rightly figure that they wouldn't like him.

"Oh, dear, are you okay?" Nurse Joy said from behind the counter. She rushed around to his side. "Are you hurt?"

In truth, the burn didn't hurt that badly. Or rather, he didn't notice that much. He said, without realizing:

"These are Lyra's Pokémon."

Nurse Joy looked up, surprised. "Yes, they are. Are you a friend of Lyra?"

Silver faltered. He wouldn't say that they were friends, not by a long shot. But he knew, her, so did that qualify, in the eyes of this Nurse?

"Acquaintances," Silver mumbled.

"I see," Nurse Joy said, her expression faltering. Silver noticed; was that a hint of sadness in the woman's eyes?

Should he ask?

"Is she here?" Silver posed quietly.

"She's in the back," Nurse Joy said. "Would you like to see her?"

He did not want to see her, that was for sure. And, despite himself, curiosity did not, in fact, get the better of him. Silver left.

* * *

He could not stay away for long.

It was two days later, in fact, when he found himself in that same Pokémon Center. He approached the counter, again, and handed over his Pokémon. He wasn't sure if Nurse Joy remembered him; he wasn't even sure if this was the same Nurse Joy.

Silver didn't need to ask if Lyra was still there, though. Her Pokémon were still trotting around the lobby. He sighed; he wouldn't be able to let it go until he got to the bottom of this.

"Is Lyra still here?"

"Oh? Yes, she is. In the back. Would you like to see her?"

Silver cringed internally, noting the similarities between this conversation and the one that took place two days prior. He shrugged, giving a noncommittal huff as an answer, and followed when Nurse Joy led him to the back of the Center. There were rooms back here, rooms that could be used for people, as well as Pokémon. Silver thought over the reasons why she would be back here.

_Did she go and get herself hurt? _He scoffed. _Weak._

He wasn't prepared for what was awaiting him.

When they finally reached a certain room, Nurse Joy went in first.

"Lyra, dear, you have a visitor." Nurse Joy motioned for Silver to walk into the room.

Upon entering, Silver paled, though not nearly as much as Lyra. She was lying in a bed, with the sheets pulled up to her chest. An IV was hooked up to one of her arms, while the other was curled around her Eevee, lying by her side. Her hair was out of its pigtails, lying messily around on her pillow. Her skin was nearly as white as the sheets on which she lay.

Silver thought she was asleep, but she cracked one eye open, accentuating the shadows underneath.

"Silver," she said. She lifted her arms and placed her hands at her sides, trying to lift herself up a bit. Eevee sat up, as well, and got closer to her owner, as if to help. Nurse Joy went, too, and supported Lyra. Silver saw the way Lyra's face contorted in pain as she moved, but she managed to smile at him when she was upright. As soon as she was steady, she excused Nurse Joy, who hurried back to her post at the front of the Center.

"You were right, Silver," Lyra said when Nurse Joy left, "I am weak. After all, I'm here, sick, in this bed, aren't I?" She coughed.

Silver was frozen. His hand gripped the doorframe as he ground his teeth together, unsure of what to do. Suddenly, without preamble, he left the room.

She didn't try to stop him.

* * *

The very next day, he found himself outside of the Pokémon Center again. He needed to apologize, if only to save face to Nurse Joy, along with anyone else who may have seen him leave so abruptly.

He strolled through the door, trying his best to remain calm. Nurse Joy smiled at him, despite his behavior the day before. When he approached the counter, he didn't present his Pokémon, but instead asked, straight out.

"What's wrong with her?"

Nurse Joy's face fell. "I believe that this isn't something to discuss in public. Would you like to step into the hallway?"

"Very well," Silver said. He went first, waiting just inside of the hallway while Nurse Joy arranged things in the lobby for her absence. She quickly joined him.

"The illness from which your friend is suffering is very rare, and preys on those with weaker immune systems." Silver had started to say that he wasn't friends with Lyra, but kept quiet and listened. "Treatment and recovery is a toss-up, at best. And, right now, nothing seems to be working. The illness is easier to treat when caught early, but she only came here requesting treatment when she was in the worse stages. She probably started showing symptoms a few weeks ago."

Silver thought back to the last time he'd seen Lyra before the day before. That had been their encounter in the Burned Tower in Ecruteak. She had been pale, he recalled now, and shaky on her feet, but he'd thought that that was a result of the location, and the fact that the floor could have given way at any second. Could it really have been this mysterious illness?

And, what's worse, he'd noted her physique during their battle, taking one of his many jabs at her being weak. To see her now…

A cold feeling settled in Silver's gut, and he was gripped by guilt. He looked down at the floor. However, he needed to swallow his guilt and apologize. That was why he came, after all.

Nurse Joy left to go back to her station, and Silver was left alone. He began dragging his feet as he went. Before going in, he paused, listening. She was talking to her Pokémon, it sounded like.

Silver took a deep breath and readied himself before entering the room. As soon as he walked in, Lyra stopped talking, and her Pokémon stood up, ready to attack, should their trainer order it. Silver averted his eyes, shame burning his face. Lyra, however, eased the tension in the room by laughing. Silver looked up, surprised by her outburst. Lyra began to calm down after a few moments, but coughed a few times as she did so. She looked at Silver with slightly teary eyes.

"Gosh, Silver, I knew I was in bad shape, but I didn't think it was _that _bad."

"I was surprised… I didn't think…" Silver grumbled, but then cleared his throat and spoke clearly. "I'm here to apologize for my earlier behavior. That's all. So… I'm sorry." He turned on his heel and started walking away.

"Wait," Lyra said with a note of sadness in her voice. "You're leaving?"

Silver barely turned, and didn't meet Lyra's eyes. "I have no reason to stay any longer."

* * *

Silver really, really needed to get out of town. Two days later, he was back in the center, yet again.

What was worse, Nurse Joy remembered him.

"Oh, good, you're back," she said, smiling. "When you didn't return yesterday, I was afraid you two had gotten in a fight."

"We're _not _friends," Silver said with finality, "And I'm only here to rest my Pokémon."

"Is that so?" Nurse Joy said. "I thought you were, since Lyra spoke so highly of you after your visit. And she was feeling so much better, too. You're the only visitor she's had."

Silver was surprised. He'd seen her make friends with nearly everyone she battled. She was good friends with that one boy, Ethan, and probably had family in New Bark. But nobody visited her?

"If you wouldn't mind, could you visit her again? I think she gets really lonely, but there's nobody here for her to talk to. I know, you said you're not friends, but… since so far, none of the treatments are working, I think that anything to lift her spirits would help."

The cold feeling was back. At this rate, was Nurse Joy implying that Lyra was… dying?

"I'll take your Pokémon for a few seconds," Nurse Joy said, but a tone in her voice implied that she expected Silver to visit Lyra while he was waiting. Begrudgingly, he handed over his Pokémon and trudged back to that hallway and her room.

He didn't pause before the door, but walked straight in and stood by the wall. Lyra didn't even seem surprised by his arrival.

However, before Lyra could say anything, Silver spoke up; "Don't think I'm here because I want to be. The Nurse has coerced me into visiting you."

"I'm touched you're so concerned," Lyra said, smiling and rolling her eyes.

"I just don't want you to think that I'd voluntarily hang out with a weakling like you."

"Don't pretend you don't love it."

"I _don't_."

Lyra huffed. "Fine! Leave, then. I don't care."

But, Silver thought, according to Nurse Joy, Lyra did care. If the girl was really… he didn't want to think it, but _dying_…

He didn't like weaklings. This was why. They were too vulnerable, too impermanent.

"Hey, Silver. Silver!"

Silver was broken from his thoughts when he realized Lyra was trying to get his attention from her bed. "If you're not going to leave, why don't you sit down?" She gestured to the sole chair in the room.

Silver regarded the object with a look of slight disdain, and hesitated for quite a long moment before sitting down. When he did so, he sat in silence. Neither spoke for the longest time.

"Well?"

Silver looked up. "Well, what?"

Lyra sighed in a jokingly tired manner. "You're my visitor, aren't you? Entertain me! Talk! Because I am _really bored _sitting in this bed all day."

"Can you get out at all?"

Lyra smiled sadly. "Not without help. I can't walk from here to the door, much less around town." She flopped back onto her pillow. "So, it's up to you!"

Silver just huffed and turned away. He didn't feel obligated to do anything for this girl. Really, he felt that he should leave.

But before he could get up, he felt a hand on his arm. Lyra was sitting up again, and reaching out to him. But her hand was trembling, and she looked to be in pain. Silver sighed, leaning forward to push her back.

"Weak. You shouldn't push yourself." He straightened in his chair once more before, finally, beginning. "What do you want to hear about?"

"Tell me about… when you stole the Totodile from the lab."

"Tsk. Don't you already know the story? After all, you were there… for the beginning…"

* * *

He only left when Nurse Joy came in to give Lyra more medication. He wouldn't dare let anyone see that he was actually _tolerating _such a weak person.

* * *

A major storm rolled through, and the Pokémon Center was packed. However, Nurse Joy made a special case for Silver, and let his Pokémon be treated earlier. Of course, he had to hold up his end of the bargain.

He stood by the door again, waiting for her to invite him to sit. She stared out at the storm raging, but she never flinched, even at the biggest flash of lightning or the loudest clap of thunder.

"Doesn't it scare you?" he asked, recalling her jumpy attitude towards anything remotely frightening.

"It used to," she mumbled, "But there's not much it can do to me now, is there?" She turned to him after that. "What about you?

"There's nothing frightening about the weather. Such fears are for weak people."

Lyra just gave him an intense look. He crinkled his brow in confusion as she continued to stare at him, never breaking eye contact. Suddenly, she lashed out with her arm and snapped her fingers just in front of his eyes. Silver jumped back, startled, and Lyra laughed.

Silver frowned and turned away, ready to head for the door.

"Wait," Lyra said, "Come back? Please?"

Silver turned around. "Why should I?"

Lyra frowned and turned away. "Fine. Leave."

Silver stood in the doorway, eyes facing the wall across the hallway, as he thought everything over. Suddenly, he turned and reentered the room, sitting down in the chair.

"I don't take orders from weaklings."

* * *

Once again, near the end of the day, Nurse Joy came in to give Lyra another round of medicine. Nurse Joy informed Silver that he should probably leave, and then she went across the hall to get the medical instruments from the supply. Just as Silver began to walk out, though, Lyra shot up and grabbed his sleeve.

"Hold on a minute, Silver. Will you do something for me?"

Silver turned and raised an eyebrow, acknowledging her request.

Lyra smiled. "Bring me some food. Good food."

Silver shrugged off her hand, but gently. "I don't take orders from weaklings."

"It's not an order. It's a request. Please? I'll owe you one!" Lyra begged. "The only stuff I get to eat here is really bland. I want something good."

Silver sighed. However, looking at Lyra's big, brown eyes, and remembering her predicament, he caved. "Alright."

Besides, she'd owe him one.

* * *

However, he didn't leave the Center. Instead, he waited for Nurse Joy to finish administering Lyra's treatment, and caught the Nurse before she went back to her post.

"Does Lyra know… her chances?"

Nurse Joy went about the now-empty Pokémon Center, preparing things for the coming day. "I haven't told her, but I think she knows anyway. Since nothing is working, and she's not getting better, despite the number of treatments we've tried, I think she's put two and two together. But I don't think she wants to admit it."

Silver nodded, thinking about Lyra's quick personality change. One minute, she was melancholy and reserved, but the next, she was teasing and smiling as usual.

* * *

He was back the next day with food. However, when Nurse Joy saw him, she stopped him.

"She's not feeling well today, and I think she's sleeping now. You can go in, if you want."

Silver had had enough sense to hide the food package behind his back when Nurse Joy had stopped him, and took it straight to Lyra's room. Should he be caught, it would be a decent excuse as to why he had decided to go directly to Lyra's room, though really, he wanted to see her. He might admit, maybe, that he was _worried_.

At least, a little bit.

Lyra was sleeping. She looked even more pale and gaunt than she had any of the days prior. One thin arm was wrapped around Eevee, while Flaaffy had its fluffy head underneath its master's chin. The shadows under Lyra's eyes were dark, and her cheeks were sallow.

Silver placed the package on the table and began to walk away, but was startled when Quilava, who was sleeping in a corner of the room, stood suddenly. Silver prepared to bolt, remembering the Pokémon's less-than-pleasant attitude toward him, but Quilava didn't pay any attention to the boy. Instead, Quilava trotted over to Lyra's bed, where the girl had begun coughing and breathing rapidly. Her chest rose and fell with an erratic fervor. Silver quickly went back to the bed, before he could fully register his own movements, and helped Lyra into a sitting position. He then handed the girl, now awake, a glass of water from the table. He guessed that the glass was there for that very purpose. Lyra took the glass with shaking hands and took a few quick gulps.

"Thank you," she said quietly, smiling up at him. Silver looked away.

"I, uh, brought your food," he said.

Lyra looked over at the table, where the package sat.

"Thanks. I'm, um, not very hungry right now…"

"Well," Silver said, "You better eat it, since I bought it."

"I'll eat it later!" Lyra huffed. Silver noticed that there was a little color returning to the girl's cheeks.

"Good." He said. And then, he sighed and sat down in the chair. At Lyra's urging, they began to talk.

* * *

After a while, Lyra began to feel better, and ate some of the food that Silver had brought. She shared some with him, as well.

When it came time for Silver to leave, Lyra asked; "Will you come back tomorrow? Please?"

"Fine. I will."

* * *

"We should battle."

A week had passed. Silver had been by nearly every day, despite his better judgment. Lyra's condition fluctuated without preamble, and, at times, Silver had seen the worst yet.

At this time, he was sitting in the chair by Lyra's bed, reading a book that he had brought with him while she was resting. However, now she was awake, and more energetic than he'd seen in a while.

Silver looked up and raised an eyebrow, intrigued by her request. "You're in a hospital."

"We should still battle. It's a nice day out, so we could go behind the Center! You know, so you won't have to be seen battling a _weakling_." She stuck her tongue out.

Silver just went back to his book, but Lyra still watched him hopefully. After a minute, Silver put the book down and sighed.

"I'll go ask Nurse Joy."

Lyra clasped her hands together excitedly and started bouncing in the bed. "Thank you!"

Silver found Nurse Joy at the counter and posed Lyra's idea. She was a little reluctant, though.

"I don't want to exaggerate her condition…" Nurse Joy said, "But maybe… it'll help. For her to go outside. Experience a little excitement." She smiled and held out her hands. "I'll rest your Pokémon really quick, and then you can wait outside while I get her."

Silver waited outside with his Pokémon. Nurse Joy and Lyra emerged a few minutes later. Lyra was in a wheelchair, and she had a sweater around her shoulders. Her hat was back, but sitting rather lopsidedly on her head. She looked pale, much more so than she had in the room. Silver began to doubt whether this was a good idea.

"You're not backing out, are you?" Lyra said, reading his expression. "I don't want you holding back on me."

Silver nearly took her words with a grain of salt, and did hold himself back. Because of this, his first Pokémon was wiped out in the first turn.

Lyra smirked at him. "No holding back, Silver."

Even sick, Lyra was a challenge.

After that, Silver pushed forward. He and Lyra became neck-and neck, in a battle that seemed to stretch on endlessly. However, finally, they were both down to their last Pokémon; Quilava and Croconaw.

"You're done, Lyra. I've got the advantage here," Silver taunted, but his spirit was weak. Weeks ago, the battle wouldn't have been this close. He wasn't sure if he felt right, winning against her now that she was so sick.

But Lyra dashed his doubt when she leaned forward, gripping both hands around the ends of the armrests on the wheelchair. Her hands-no, her whole body-was shaking, but she looked at him with a light in her eyes.

"Don't tell me that, Silver. This isn't over yet."

She beat him.

* * *

However, it seemed that that day was the last day of good news.

Four days later, Silver was back, and it was clear that Lyra had gotten worse.

Silver knew this when he went to Lyra's room to find Nurse Joy helping her back to her bed from the bathroom, where Lyra had just been violently ill. She smiled when she saw Silver, and tried to brush off her sickness by saying something hadn't sat right with her. Nurse Joy, however, had a different story, and called Silver out into the hall.

"She hasn't been able to keep anything down for the past few days. We're going to switch her to intravenous nutrition today."

"It's worse." Silver confirmed.

"Much worse," Nurse Joy nodded. Silver had nothing more to say. He went back to Lyra's room.

"Why am I the only one that's visited you?" Silver asked. "What about your parents? What about that friend of yours…" Silver trailed off, realizing that he didn't know the boy's name.

"Ethan. He's busy, on his own journey. I don't even know where he is these days. Same with my parents. My dad's off traveling in some other region, and my mom has to stay home and wait for him to return. I didn't want to make them come all of the way out here." Lyra suddenly turned away. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Silver said, surprised.

"You shouldn't have had to keep coming by here, visiting me. I've kept you from your training."

"It's okay," Silver said, "I didn't mind. I don't mind."

"Really?" Lyra said, smiling up at him. Silver nodded.

She slept through most of the rest of his visit.

* * *

Lyra was even worse the next time Silver visited, a few days later. She was too thin, too pale, and too tired. When Silver entered the room, she didn't acknowledge him. Her half-lidded eyes were blank, fixed on a point on the ceiling until they drooped closed, and she fell into a restless sleep.

When he asked, Nurse Joy confirmed his thoughts; this was her last leg, so to say. This was it. She didn't have much time left.

He sat next to her and waited, for hours. It took that long for her to wake up.

"H-Hey, Silver," Lyra said, smiling. Silver just nodded.

It seemed that Lyra couldn't find the strength to even continue to speak, and settled into silence once more. The silent time in that room crept by; at the same time, it was going all too fast. Finally, when the outside sky was tinged orange, Silver worked up the nerve to speak.

"Lyra, are you awake? Can you listen to me for a second?"

"Uh-huh," Lyra said weakly. Silver took a deep breath.

"You still owe me. Remember? I got you food, and you said you'd owe me. Well, I'm calling in that favor now." Silver stood, ready to leave, but kept his eyes on Lyra.

"Don't die."

* * *

Silver didn't return after that. He went off and traveled, from one town to another, training his Pokémon tirelessly. He took the region by storm, his Pokémon performed better than ever, but nothing was enough to distract him.

He was gone for an entire month.

After that month, though, Silver decided that not knowing was much, much worse than knowing.

He headed back for the Pokémon Center to put his metaphorical-he hoped it was only metaphorical-ghosts to rest.

* * *

The closer he got to the Pokémon Center, the faster he found himself going, until he sprinted through the doors, through the lobby, which was crowded, and down the hall…

To the _empty_ room.

Silver skidded to a halt, his eyes taking in the uninhabited room.

A hand of ice squeezed his heart, and he couldn't breathe. He gripped the doorframe.

_That's it, then? _He thought. _She really…_

"She went home," Nurse Joy said from behind him, scaring him out of his skin. "She was well enough to go home."

Silver choked. He spent quite a few minutes composing before he could work up the nerve to ask; "So she's… Lyra's okay?"

Nurse Joy smiled. "She made a miraculous recovery. We both wanted to tell you, but you never left us any way to contact you. She didn't want to leave, in case you came back, but I think going home is doing her good."

_Home, _Silver thought_, is New Bark. She's back in New Bark._

He quickly nodded to Nurse Joy and hurried out of the Center. Crobat was called out, and away they flew.

* * *

New Bark was as small as ever, and it took Silver no time to find her.

Lyra was sitting by the pond outside her house, surrounded by friends. Ethan and his Pokémon played in the water while Lyra looked on gleefully, clearly not yet well enough to swim. Silver stood by; an interesting thought came to mind. Lyra wasn't _better_, not yet. But she was _getting better_.

Her mom came out of the house with plates of food for everyone, nearly tripping over Quilava as she went. The Fire type obviously had no intention of playing in the water, understandably staying by the door. When Quilava raised its head, startled by nearly being trampled, it caught sight of Silver. But instead of growling or preparing to attack, Quilava trotted over to its master and nudged her arm. Lyra, always one to quickly understand her Pokémon, looked in the direction that Quilava was indicating, and finally caught sight of Silver. A huge smile broke across her face.

Shakily, Lyra stood and rushed, as well as she could, over to Silver. When she was close, she stumbled, completing her action by falling straight into Silver's arms, hugging him with all of her might. He gently returned the gesture. Quickly.

"Where have you been?" she mock-scolded. "I couldn't wait forever, you know."

"I know," Silver said, "I went by the Pokémon Center." He didn't add that he thought she had died. She figured that bit out, anyway.

Lyra watched him intently for a few moments.

"Do you want to stick around, then?" she asked. "There's plenty of food here."

Silver cast another glance around the area. He didn't really know any of these people… but…

"Okay. I guess."

"Good! I figured, you know, that since I took up so much of your time… well, maybe this might begin to make up for it?"

"Lyra," Silver said. She had turned away, but looked up at him again, startled. "Don't do me any favors. We're even."

* * *

A/N: So, yeah, yay. Spent nearly a week writing this, and now I have WiFi, so I can post it!

(My computer is a piece of (expletive).)

It wouldn't connect to the WiFi.

Ergh.

Please review, and tell me what you think!


End file.
